Time and Tide
by Ryoshu Kin
Summary: Matt and Mello go to the beach. Written for a contest. Mello x Matt fluff


"Please, Mello... " Matt prompted from his place leaning against the wall outside of the changing room. From where he stood, he had a great view of the sand dunes and if he looked closely he could even see the ocean, and the girls, beyond.

"No." Mello answered, cold and indifferent. He still wouldn't come out of the damn changing room.

"But, Mello, you promised!" Matt reminded him, "You said that we would go to the beach after the Kira case ended."

"We ARE at the damn beach..." Mello snarled from behind the door, snapping off a piece chocolate with his teeth. The waves crashing in the background provided a backdrop for their argument.

"No, we're not! We're five fucking feet AWAY from the beach and SOMEONE won't come out of the changing room!" Matt snapped back, "What happened to your promise?"

"I didn't expect us to SURVIVE the fucking Kira case..."

Matt knew he was in trouble; Mello didn't go completely monotone like that unless he was five seconds from blowing something up, but he was determined, dammit. Mello promised him this vacation and he was damn well going to let him enjoy it. "What's wrong, Mello? Are you body shy?" He taunted.

Matt practically had to press his ear to the door to hear Mello's response this time, "You would be too with scars like these." Suddenly the door swung open and Matt fell forward into the stall. He caught himself on Mello's shoulders without thinking and gaped at the other man; caught up in the horrible beauty of his scars.

"Wow..." Was the most intelligent response Matt could come up with. The scars traced a spider-web of ridges and recesses over the side of Mello's face, down his neck, and over his shoulder, ending just shy of his left nipple. He reached up and slid his fingers over the roughened skin.

"Just go to the beach, Matt." Mello instructed. He sounded horribly tired.

"You promised that WE would go to the beach." Matt protested, standing up. "I'm not going without you." It was hard to stay mad at Mello while he looked so uncertain. Even with the surf and sand calling to him like a siren's song, he refused to leave Mello cowering in a changing stall. He knew Mello loved the beach; that was his sole purpose for coming.

"Matt, beach-bunnies." Mello lifted his arm and pointed as though he expected Matt to run off like a dog after a stick.

Matt heard the girls giggling; obviously coming that way. He pointedly refused to look. Mello wouldn't win this one.

Suddenly one of them made a choked gasp. "Oh my GOD! Ginny, did you SEE that boy!"

"Gross! What happened to him?! His face is, like, MELTED!" Another one shrieked.

Watching Mello flinch back into the stall, farther form the sunlight, Matt was reminded why he didn't like girls. "Shut the fuck up, Bitch!" Matt snarled, spinning on them. "Half his face was nearly burned off, and he's still prettier than you."

"Ex-cuse me!" The girl said nastily, putting her hands on her hips and sticking out her chest like she expected Matt to take one look at her tits and get down on his knees to apologize. She had sand stuck in her belly-button. Kinda ruined the effect.

"You heard me. Mello's a sexier bitch than you... They make implants for those, by the way." Matt smirked.

The girl stormed off in a huff and her friends followed her like obedient dogs, commenting on the 'jackass prick'.

"Up yours..." Matt muttered, turning back to Mello. He didn't realize how hard it was for his blonde companion. Mello never mentioned that the scars bothered him.

"He IS a sexy bitch, isn't he?" Matt spun around so fast his head didn't stop spinning for a few extra seconds. Leaning against a shower-pole a few feet away, looking curiously into the changing room, was a dark-haired girl wearing a black bikini top and swim trunks with purple flames on them. "Don't mind them, they called me fat..." She told Mello, motioning to her perfectly flat abs. "Besides, your boyfriend thinks you're sexy, that's all that should matter."

"We're not in a relationship..." Mello explained, stalking forward just a bit to see who he was talking to. The sun caught on his skin; pale from years without sun and glistening with tanning lotion.

"Well, you should think about it... They say that you can find many valuable things on the shores of the ocean. You might just find your true feelings..." And with that, she swayed off to join a boy waiting down the beach. It took Matt a minute, but finally he realized what was wrong with her.

"She only had one arm..." And scars to rival Mello's, he added mentally.

"Let's go down to the beach..." Mello offered, setting off across the sand in his bare feet.

"Huh? But, Mello, weren't you just arguing with me?" Matt called as he jogged to catch up.

"If she can go swimming with one arm, I can at least sunbathe a little." Mello turned and offered his hand back to Matt.

Matt took it and the two set off across the sand.

"Mello."

"Hm?"

"I love you..."

"Took you long enough..."


End file.
